As the year 2006 winds down, I thought I might share a few thoughts about waterfalling in this past year. In general, it looks like either we got the short end of the climate stick or there is some serious changes in the global climate that we are witnessing. We hope it's just our bad luck and not the doomsday scenario.
It started off with a bang as we were amongst the first people in the world to celebrate the new year in Taveuni, Fiji - which sat just before the International Date Line.
Then, we did some local excursions in the winter and early spring in Yosemite and Death Valley, respectively. We also fit in some waterfalling in Seattle during rainy Memorial Day Weekend as one of Julie's cousins was getting married.
We then did our first trip to Australia in the summer (winter in the Southern Hemisphere). We had a very enjoyable time in the Outbacks of the Northern Territory and Western Australia - despite hitting a kangaroo as we got close to Perth. Apparently, the late-arriving Cyclone Monica did wonders for our waterfalling in the Top End, the Kimberley, and the Pilbara, but it did render our 4wd hire useless. We also showed up before their typical rainy season started in the southern parts of the WA so the waterfall sightings there were rather subpar.
In September, I took my mom out to the Southwest Deserts to finally find Upper Calf Creek Falls as well as see Mossy Cave Falls finally flowing. Of course, it was the arches that were the main draw and our hike out to the remote Broken Bow Arch was very memorable.
In November, we went back to Australia's southeast including Tasmania. Unfortunately, it followed their driest winter on record and so it severely impacted much of our waterfall experience - especially in Victoria and South Australia; and to a lesser extent New South Wales and Tasmania. It was depressing to see how bad their drought situation was and how Global Warming seemed to be a constant theme in their media as well as in our observations.
Finally, we closed off the year with a nice week in Kaua'i. Once again, their usual winter rains didn't really arrive so their reservoirs and waterfalls weren't quite up to what we had expected from one of the wettest places on earth.
Lets hope the year 2007 is a better waterfalling year. We've got more small trips planned to other islands of Hawai'i as well as a big trip to Iceland. But it's hard not to ignore the warning signs and unusual weather patterns observed around the world.
So regardless of the world happenings, try take nothing for granted and enjoy life while doing your best to ensure your children can too.
Have a wonderful new year and we hope the world catches on to this wonderful way to witness the natural beauty of the world - waterfalling!
